


not a part of any plan, emperor

by shishiswordsman



Series: an alliance is like friendship, right? (10 days of lawlu 2018) [4]
Category: One Piece
Genre: 10 days of LawLu, Established Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Law has plans and luffy ruins them, M/M, that's how it works
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-06
Updated: 2018-06-06
Packaged: 2019-05-19 01:29:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14864073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shishiswordsman/pseuds/shishiswordsman
Summary: “I suggested we should join forces exactly because I didn’t want to serve an Emperor,” Law reminds Luffy. “You becoming one was not a part of any plan, Straw Hat-ya.”Written for day 10 of lawlu week: Emperor/Pirate King!





	not a part of any plan, emperor

So far Wano has been, in a word, uneventful.

Kaido remains unaware of their presence on the island, and the samurais of the long lost kingdom have been more than hospitable to friends of their Mink allies. The most excitement Law and his group have had to deal with was keeping Roronoa from running after Kaido once he’d laid eyes on Black Leg’s increased bounty.

As soon as Roronoa had been appeased — read: temporarily delayed — with enough booze to get Zunisha drunk, Law and Luffy’s crews had been quick to start a party. Whether or not it was a pity party because none of them had gotten to participate in the fucking mess that Whole Cake island must have been, or a celebratory event for their allies’ triumph, Law didn’t know.

At least the samurai have good sake.

Law doesn’t really mind the break from gunpowder and adrenaline, though he knows Luffy’s time in Big Mom’s territory hasn’t been nearly as peaceful. The wanted posters were delivered to them the day before yesterday, and one set of the copies sits on the desk beside Law. Luffy’s grinning face stares at him from the weathered print, the numbers underneath three times as big as Law’s bounty.

Another copy of Luffy’s face on the front page with his new bounty spelled out below is serving as a coaster for Sachi’s drink, and Law glances at that too with half an eye. They have plenty of copies to spare.

When Law had watched Straw Hat Luffy punch a World Noble, he’d known the rookie would be big news one day. He just hadn’t expected for it to be this soon, this quickly. Maybe he should have. The Will of D is always bound to bring a storm.

“Devised and executed a calculated plot to take down the queen’s castle, huh…” He mutters under his breath. The papers have painted his asshat of an ally into a picture perfect image of strategic smarts and methodical planning. Law snorts a laugh into his sake cup, only waving off Bepo’s amused looks.

Mastermind isn’t exactly the first word Law’d use to describe Straw Hat. However Luffy’d gotten Capone to play along with his dumbassery is beyond him, and were he a more empathetic person, Law would feel sorry for Capone. The Tank Pirate captain’s past few days must have been nothing short of hell, Law knows that first hand.

The sight of the Straw Hats’ ship emerges from the horizon a bit after sunset, when it’s dark enough that it takes a while for Law to realise how battered the Sunny is. Its condition does nothing to assuage his concern for the true nature of Luffy’s little stealth mission. Chopper must have had his hands full.

Hooves. Whatever.

The only warning the Heart and Straw Hat pirates receive before the future king of pirates careens onshore is a wild cheer, and then red collides with green as Luffy tackles Zoro to the ground. Zoro doesn’t even seem too fazed — his protests lack any real fire, and it’s clear he only voices them out of habit.

“Guys! I missed you! How’s everyone, you didn’t fight Kaido without me, right? What’s —"

He’s interrupted. “Luffy! You can’t do that, your injuries are still healing!” Law hears Chopper shout from the shoreline, his tiny hooves waving furiously back and forth as he rushes over to his captain. Luffy’s limbs are still wrapped around Zoro’s, well, his entire body, and the little shit only laughs chimingly at his doctor’s ire.

“Sorry Chopper! I forgot!” Based on the sing-songy tune in his words and the shitty grin on his face, Law highly doubts he did. Luffy turns to him and the other Heart Pirates next. “Hi, Torao and Torao’s friends! Good to see you!”

He hops down from Zoro’s shoulders, finally, and Law braces himself for Luffy’s greeting. When his ally hugs him close and grins against his skin, Law wraps his arms around Luffy’s smaller frame awkwardly, mindful of the bandages that cover Luffy’s midsection.

“Good to see you too, Straw Hat-ya.” Law pushes Luffy away in favour of bonking the back of the shorter pirate’s head with Kikoku’s hilt. “I thought this was going to be a clandestine mission, idiot.”

At least Luffy has the decency to look halfway sheepish. “It was! Sort of at least, in the beginning.”

“So you managed to stay patient and quiet for what, five minutes?” Zoro asks, clearly amused.

“Hey! I never said I would be quiet _all_ the way.”

“I believe your exact words were ‘I just won’t get into any fights’, Luffy,” Robin reminds her captain, smiling fondly. The new developments clearly have not been a surprise to her. Luffy gives her a betrayed look and then immediately jumps into her several arms, hugging her tight.

Zoro smirks. “I really should have tagged along with you guys. That Dogteeth guy sounds like he was one hell of an opponent.”

“He was!” Luffy grins, and there’s and odd air of silence around him for a brief moment that makes Law think this wasn’t just any fight. “I’m glad you were here to make sure everyone was okay, Zoro! Torao too. But really, you guys haven’t fought Kaido yet, right?”

Law shakes his head. “It’s been fairly uneventful so far. I’ve had time to speak with the leaders here, and we’ve thought of a plan —”

“No plan talk, Torao, please,” Luffy whines. “We gotta party!”

“We have been partying, waiting for you,” Law tells him, but they’re already walking back to where the bonfire is still a pillar of fire that climbs high in the sky, the embers floating away from it mingling with the stars. “You’re late.”

“Aw, you guys didn’t wait?”

“We waited for you to get here before we advanced on Kaido. What more do you want?” Law questions teasingly. He’s blatantly ignored.

The samurai and minks swarm Luffy and the others who’d gone to Whole Cake island as soon as they make it to the clearing where the party will be held and has been held.

Law doesn’t see Black Leg for the longest time, but he does note that at one point of the party the Straw Hats seem to disappear one by one, and when they come back as one big, loud group they all have wide smiles on their faces, and Black Leg is with them.

At first glance he looks just the same as he did back in Dressrosa, but his shoulders are slightly slumped and the way he tries at first to trail a few steps after the others, before Nami and Usopp pull him back into the tight knit group speak volumes of how their latest adventure has affected him.

Courteously, Law shifts his attention back to the fire and his own crew before Black Leg has the chance to catch him staring.

He doesn’t have to wait for long for Luffy’s unruly mop of hair to pop back into his visage — hanging upside down in front of him, holding onto a tree branch above with nothing but his crossed ankles.

“Hi Torao! D’ya wanna dance with me? Dancing is fun!”

Law shakes his head firmly, and Luffy pouts. “I’d rather go swim in the ocean.”

“But the ocean would kill yo—“ It takes a moment for Luffy’s mind to catch up with his mouth, and his lips form a small ‘o’ of understanding. “Ahh, I see. That’s kinda rude, Torao.”

“We’re pirates. We’re not known for being polite, Straw Hat-ya.”

“Good point,” Luffy agrees, laughing into his hand. His cheeks are getting positively flushed from being upside down for so long, and Law rolls his eyes before yanking his lithe ally down from the tree. Luffy lets out a soft and quiet noise of pain as he lands on the ground beside Law, and Law’s focus is immediately drawn to the gauze covering on Luffy’s tan skin.

A patch on his left side is darkened, dots of murky red blooming against the relatively pure white of the cotton. Luffy’s already back to all grins and sparkling eyes, but there’s dark circles under his eyes and a weariness lingers in the corners of his mouth. Law would like to check on Luffy’s injuries himself, because they must be gruesome to still ail his ally so after almost a week has passed, but he also knows that not even a crowbar made of sea stone would be able to pry Luffy away from the party. He’ll have to join Chopper and Luffy later, when they’re changing Luffy’s bandages.

For now, a verbal account will have to do, Law decides. When asked about his health, or lack thereof, Luffy gives the red on white of his chest a glance, and then laughs. “Katakuri was a good guy,” he tells Law, very obviously pleased — and proud — of how the fight ended. “He was really strong, and I got sorta beaten up. But he went down first, in the end.”

“Congratulations,” Law says, because taking down Big Mom’s second in command is nothing short of an impressive feat. He can’t really bring himself to be genuinely happy for Luffy, though. He should be, but he’s not.

It’s conflicting as all hell — on one hand he’s happy and relieved to see Luffy back, his goals reached and surpassed, and with all his limbs intact, too. Then again, Luffy surpassing his goals means yet another wrench thrown directly into Law’s plans. This happens way more often than Law cares to admit. All the fucking time, that is.

Law clears his throat, getting Luffy’s attention. Round brown eyes peer into him, crinkled at the corners with the width of the smile stretching his lips. “What? Does Torao want to dance after all?”

“Not in the slightest,” Law turns him down, _again._ “You can go dance by yourself, if you please.”

“Nuh-uh,” comes Luffy’s eloquent counter argument, and the younger captain crosses his arms. “Dancing alone is no fun.”

Law doesn’t comment on that. “Have you considered what your newly elevated status means for us?” he ask, not at all bitterly. Maybe a _bit_ bitterly. Maybe he’s saltier than all the Blues combined — who’s to say.

Luffy cocks his head to the side, putting a healing scab on the side of his face and neck in clear display. Law can hear the ‘Torao? What’s wrong?’ before it ever falls from Luffy’s lips, and his scowl deepens.

“I suggested we should join forces exactly _because_ I didn’t want to serve an Emperor,” he reminds Luffy. “You becoming one was not part of any plan, Straw Hat-ya.”

Luffy snickers into his hand, unbothered by Law’s annoyance. “I didn’t know that’d happen either, it really surprised me! But Torao, you’re getting it all wrong.”

“How so?”

“You don’t serve me. You will _never_ serve me. I don’t want you to serve anyone but yourself.” Luffy sounds so serious now, his eyes sharp enough to cut through steel. “We’re allied, like we were before cake place. Nothing’s changed.”

Law huffs out a long, deep breath. “You don’t make the rules for these things, Straw Hat-ya. An Emperor doesn’t ally with others; they rule and command and conquer.”

“No,” Luffy firmly interrupts, “I’m not the boss of anyone, just a captain to my crew. We’re friends like we always were, and you gotta stop making this more complicated than that.” Luffy grimaces, lifting a hand to rub against his forehead. “It’s making my head hurt.”

“Right,” Law says, though it’s so wrong — _everything’s_ changed, and Law’s yet to figure out if he likes the way the scales have tipped.

He kisses Luffy softly, pressing one more chaste kiss on his lover’s forehead as he pulls away. “Maybe I’ll be the one to reach it first. Then you’ll be the Emperor and I’ll be the Pirate King.”

“As if,” Luffy refuses, laughing even though something akin to hard determination flashes in his eyes. “I’m the guy who’s gonna be Pirate King. This Emperor thing kinda just, well. Happened?”

Law gives a lopsided grin at that. “Only you could become an Emperor on accident, Monkey D. Luffy.”

Luffy giggles, and Law watches stars reflect in his round, bright eyes. They both know that in the future — the very near future, even — it’ll be Law calling Luffy king, and not the other way around.

Law’s not sure he minds. His goals have shifted, too, morphed anew by an alliance formed on an island of ice and fire and hardened by Dressrosa’s downfall.

“That’s right. I’m an Emperor,” Luffy whispers in wonder. He doesn’t seem to notice when his bandaged hand rises to his head, to the brim of his hat. “Just like Shanks.”

“Now we just got to dye your hair red and cut off your other arm, and you’ll fit the part perfectly,” Law says, joking.

Luffy blinks at him owlishly for a beat, and then guffaws out a laugh. “You’re right! Like this!” He puts three of his fingers in front of one eye and fakes a drunken hiccup. “Luffy, listen! This hat is my treasure. No one harms my friends! _Aah, more sake!”_

Law finds himself containing a laugh at that, but he doesn’t need to. Luffy laughs for the both of them, all but doubling over with the power of his glee.

“We can think about all of this ally and emperor stuff tomorrow, okay? It’s a party now, and parties are for having a good time, Torao. So let’s have a good time.”

“You go ahead,” Law tells Luffy, finding and squeezing his fingers. “I’ll catch up with you.”

Luffy doesn’t need to be told twice. He squeezes Law’s hand back once, grins before rushing off to find his next victim. Law remains by the bonfire, thinking.

Before he they parted on Zou, the idea of fighting Kaido seemed maybe a bit too ambitious. A whole lot too ambitious. Borderline suicidal-levels of ambitious, really.

Two pirate crews who’d been considered nothing but rookies just a few years back — hell, they still _were_ considered that —  along with some ragtag allies, battling Kaido the Beast? Preposterous.

It isn’t such a wild idea anymore.

It’ll be a clash between Emperors, now.

Law leans back and takes a long sip of sake. Closer to the fire he sees Luffy lift Usopp in the air and twirl him wildly. The flames frame his face, their light reflecting in his hair like a crown.

It’s a party, Luffy’s right about that, and Law can push the prospect of tomorrow to where it belongs for one night; tomorrow. He swallows the rest of his sake, and he walks over to Luffy with a slight sway to his step.

When he offers Luffy his hand and asks if he can have the next dance, Luffy’s smile rivals the sun.

**Author's Note:**

> Oda's probably going to yank the rug from under my feet the second they get to wano, when does he not. this'll just be a canon divergence then :'D
> 
> This was a collab with the wonderful [Lulu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lululawlawlu), who did art for this oneshot! You can find it [here,](https://lululawlawlu-art.tumblr.com/post/174638879484/this-is-for-shishiswordsmans-amazing-fic-tysm) please show it some love! Thank you for collabing with me Lulu ♡〜٩( ˃́▿˂̀ )۶〜♡ 
> 
> This is the last thing I'll be adding to this collection for the time being. I've only filled 5 days here, because some of my submissions for this week were actually art. You can find them on my artblog [here!](https://shishisart.tumblr.com/) Also I've been too busy to finish the fic for strings/chains + doctor/patient because it really got out of hand, so I will be adding it to this collection once I finish it. That might take a while though.
> 
> Thanks for reading my works, I hope you enjoyed them. Until next time ~


End file.
